Combustion resonance is a phenomenon that can occur in many combustion devices, such as, for instance, industrial heaters, gas turbines, and jet and rocket engines. Combustion resonance can be caused by the acoustics of a combustion chamber of the combustion device interacting with a flame in the combustion chamber. For example, the acoustics of the combustion chamber can interact with the flame to cause pressure oscillations in the combustion chamber.
The pressure oscillations caused by the interaction of the acoustics and the flame can resonate within the combustion chamber. For example, if left unimpeded, the pressure oscillations can grow in magnitude. The resonance can result in significant damage to the combustion device, including flame extinction, equipment fatigue, and/or equipment failure.
Previous approaches to prevent combustion resonance have included redesigning the combustion chamber of the combustion device, which may include adding cavities and/or resonators to the combustion chamber. However, redesigning the combustion chamber may require significant economic resources and can be impracticable. Further, many combustion devices can be used in a variety of combustion chambers, making it difficult to predict combustion resonance prior to the commissioning of the combustion device.
Other approaches include dampening the combustion resonance by modifying acoustic pressures in the combustion chamber using speakers and/or modulating heat release rate by changing fuel flow at acoustic frequencies. However, these approaches require advanced control approaches based on a complex model of the specific combustion chamber/device combination.